How To Find A Legitimate Online Business

Posted by admin in online business on Jul 6th, 2010 | 0 comments

Finding a legitimate online business to be involved in these days has proven to be harder than it used to. With the increase in online business scams, you really need to put in extra effort to avoid falling into their traps. In this article I will touch on some of the ways you can apply to reveal and avoid business scams online.

One of the most obvious scams that I see online are businesses that claim to make you thousands in the first week or the first month, but surprisingly these offers attract the most responses. Look, the rule of thumb is well, for me at least. If they seem too good to be true, then they are too good to be true and the more reasons why you should be cautious about them.

Here are a few steps you can take to avoid being scammed. On that particular online business opportunity website, go to their “About Us” page, then look for their business address and check if they are valid. Call them if their contact number is listed. You are also checking if their contact number is real at the same time. Find out who their investors are. Where their references and testimonials come from. Ask questions like do they really exist? Are they reliable sources you can trust?

Good legitimate online businesses normally offer free training. Most include training manuals and online video tutorials to go with. Marketing tools such as banners, squeeze pages and high converting sales letters should be readily available to their members. There must also be a good support system or a support team standing by to answer queries and questions that members have.

You should be cautious if they ask for a deposit from you to start your online business. Legitimate home businesses online normally don’t ask for advance payments. If they do it would for upgrading your membership status to receive better benefits. For example to receive a higher commission, gain access to information normal members don’t and so on.

There’s another rule of thumb that I would like to share with you. That is if you find particular online businesses that are being promoted by most popular sites or internet marketers, those are most probably safe businesses to promote. If you want to be even more certain, post questions in online forums. Bad apples are revealed in forums most prominently.

After you have chosen a legitimate online business to promote, monitor for a few months if its commission payments are prompt. Check whether it delivers that have been promised and most importantly, listen to your heart, to your gut feeling. If you are comfortable with them and seem promising, go all out promoting it.

5 Entrepreneurial Leadership Characteristics

Posted by admin in Entrepreneurialism on Jul 6th, 2010 | 0 comments

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” – Abraham Lincoln, US-President, 1861-1865

In order to become a fully functioning, successful individual in whichever endeavor you choose to undertake, you must first cultivate the right attitude and behaviorial traits. No where else is this fact more true as than when we consider the dominant characteristics needed for entrepreneurial leadership.

There are effective executives and directors in many fields but most leadership development programs neither focus on increasing entrepreneurship nor do they employ innovative training methods. However, you can acquire, develop and robustly practice the requisite entrepreneurial leadership skills.

According to the late great management expert, Peter F. Drucker, “The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity. Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. (It’s the entrepreneurial) act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth.”

Entrepreneur extraordinaire, Sir Richard Branson, explains why he changed his mind and became one because he originally “wanted to be an editor or a journalist, (and) I wasn’t really interested in being an entrepreneur, but I soon found I had to become (one) in order to keep my magazine going.”

So in a very real sense, Sir Richard, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and others like them already had attributes of the leadership mind-set and they were behaving in similar ways as leaders do too. If you hope to successfully initiate any commercial, governmental or public service undertaking, you will have to learn, exhibit and embrace the characteristics of entrepreneurial leadership.

What types of character traits do entrepreneurs have? Are those behaviors really important? In a word, these characteristics are important because if you don’t possess them, you will have lower chances in terms of business success. The characteristics are as follows

1. Risk Assessor – this very important aspect of entrepreneurship is probably the most misunderstood one of all. Many organizational executives are willing to take any risk which presents itself as a breakthrough or never-before-tried opportunity. But without taking the time and effort to thoroughly evaluate or explore the potential pitfalls of their new idea, they are not very likely to succeed in their venture. In the course of doing business, you will always encounter a number of challenges, problems and situations demanding your prompt attention, decision and resolution.

However, after careful evaluation there are many risks which are worth taking, especially if their variables can be examined and then worked out and if the majority of these uncertainties are determined to be good for the business. At those times, you must be willing to be a risk taker, otherwise you won’t be acting in an effective entrepreneurial leadership capacity.

2. Wise, Smart and Accepting of New Ideas – Most people believe being smart is all there is to being a successful executive – but wisdom, a willingness to learn new things and an acceptance of new realities and viewpoints are also necessary traits for winning in your entrepreneurial enterprise.

Of course, your cleverness, keen insights, and witty interactions with others will carry you far throughout your business dealings. Regardless of your position, today’s complex and pressure-packed situations compel you to demonstrate mental toughness, alertness of changing circumstances and intelligence about emerging trends. Those attributes will help you earn the respect and trust of your clients and all your associates or partners.

3. Executive Leadership Development – It still surprises me to hear someone say that leadership is just a talent some people are born with. Yes it is true that the raw ingredients and characteristics of leadership excellence can be hard to detect or find among any random or unorganized mass of individuals.

There are not many people who naturally have the kind of nerve it takes to lead. However, today’s innovative training programs easily empower large groups of ordinary people to learn, understand and adopt the proven fundamentals of entrepreneurial leadership principles, practices and discipline.

Your executive leadership skills will serve your venture when your personal qualities and behaviors help you guide, influence, manage and direct people. These abilities will enable you to handle your business affairs with greater ease and positive emotions.

4. An Inner Passion for Your Enterprise – One essential characteristic of successful entrepreneurs is the amount and scope of their enthusiastic, passionate zeal they have for their business. We have seen high levels of this emotional trait in many public service, governmental and commercial leaders who were also founding members of their organizations.

No executive leadership development or innovative training programs can “teach” you how to have an intense yearning and desire for your venture. You alone must have, maintain and increase your enthusiasm for and uncompromising interest in your business pursuits. When your drive, determination and passion reaches a fever pitch, you will be well on your way towards successfully operating and growing your business.

5. Honesty, Integrity, Trustworthy – Every organization is built and depends upon positive relationships. Some management experts say entrepreneurial leadership means dedicating and investing eighty percent (80%) of one’s time into developing, organizing and strengthening relations with associates, customers and other stakeholders.

As cinema director, Neil LaBute, observes, “In a relationship you have to open yourself up.” Every manager knows this is true because without being forthright, dealing sincerely with and providing access to your clients, the business will not go very far.

Your honesty, integrity and trustworthy nature will enable you to earn the loyalty, custom and good will of your community, buyers and sponsors and your colleagues.

Obviously, there are other characteristic and behavioral traits needed to ensure success in your entrepreneurial leadership activities. The five attributes listed above will help you handle most of your organizational responsibilities, duties and obligations.

These traits also form the basis for successful careers in any industry or profession. If, however, you can equip yourself with the means to improve your performance, some additional time spent in innovative training courses will put you over the top.

If you plan on using an executive leadership development program to sharpen your competence in these characteristics, all you’ll need to do is study market trends carefully, think of a few strategic options for your venture, provide the capital and you’ll be ready to take entrepreneurial leadership action.

“The real issue is not talent as an independent element, but talent in relationship to will, desire, and persistence. Talent without these things vanishes and even modest talent with those characteristics grows.” – Milton Glaser

Copyright © 2008, Mustard Seed Investments Inc., All rights reserved.

Want a New Career Challenge? Try Writing a How-to or Self-help Book

Posted by admin in Business Books on Jul 6th, 2010 | 0 comments

If you’re a business professional and you’re ready to try something new, think about writing a business book. Writing a book about your expertise in a specific industry or even business in general is an excellent way to expand your business and branch out into speaking and consulting. It lets you try something new, but you don’t have to completely abandon the field you’re in.

The Booming How-To Market

How-to books are very popular—there’s always one or two on the bestseller list—and many people like reading books to learn more about their own industry, learn about industries that are new to them, find ways to advance their careers, and figure out how to deal with difficult business situations, like having a boss or a co-worker that they don’t get along with. Some people read nothing but how-to and self-help books. With thousands of topics to write about and a growing interest in self-improvement, your possibilities are endless!

Modern Printing Technology Makes Publishing Easy

In the past, publishing your own business book was expensive and time consuming because getting book ready to print and finding a reliable, inexpensive printer required lots of research and work. Plus, self-publishers had to guess how many copies they were going to need.

But these days you can offer print-on-demand copies of your book, which means the book isn’t printed until someone buys it. Or you can offer your business book in a downloadable PDF format so that printing costs are avoided altogether and people can start reading your book immediately after buying it.

Get Industry-Specific

If you have years of experience in one particular industry, then you can write a business book that describes the steps that you took to be successful in that industry and the mistakes you learned from along the way. You can help people who are just starting out to overcome the learning curve, and learn how to follow your steps themselves so that they can achieve the same kind of success that you did.

Plus, many companies looking for ways to save money use well-written industry-specific business books as training materials. You could even offer to customize certain parts of your business book to meet the specific needs of a company if they buy a set number of books.

Writing a Book is Easier Than You Think

The writing task is often overwhelming to people, but you can start small. Books don’t have to be extremely long to be popular. You can write a short, fifty- to 100-page e-book about some aspect of business that you have a lot of experience in and test the market by selling it directly on the web. You can also use an e-book format to write business books for specific businesses, like training manuals or other how-to books or guides.

What Are You Waiting For?

Writing a book not only allows you to try something new, but if you are creative in how you write the book and how you market the book, the venture can be very profitable. If you’re ready to move on and try a different career but you don’t want to start over in a new industry, take the experience and credentials that you have and try writing about that industry instead of just participating in it. You will get a chance to branch out, do something different, and still use all the years of experience that you have built up.

Checklist for Home Based Business Start-Up

Posted by admin in Business Checklist on Jul 6th, 2010 | 0 comments

Many people are thinking about starting a home based business because of the economic downturn and the fear that their jobs aren’t secure. Unfortunately, most people have no idea about starting a business and all it entails. If you’re considering a home business option, this checklist for home based business start-up may answer some questions.

It helps if you know what type of home based business you’re interested in. Most people know that choosing a business that they’re enthusiastic about will help them to succeed, so they may already have an idea of what they’d like to do.

1. When you have a business idea chosen it’s time to start working on a business plan. The old adage is true, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” This is definitely true in business. Do a search online for sample business plans and then develop one of your own.

2. Determine the form of your business. In other words, decide now if you will be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation. Each one has their own advantages and disadvantages, so talk with an accountant to discuss which option would be best for you.

3. Get any required business licenses that you’ll need. Check with your city, county, and state to determine which licenses will be required for your type of business.

4. Check with the local zoning commission to see if there are any limitations to your running your business from your home. Even though it’s great to start a home based business, it would be terrible to have it shut down because of a zoning violation.

5. Depending upon the type of business you choose, there could be a number of types of insurance required. For instance, if you run a home inspection service from your home, you need to purchase Error, Omission, and Liability insurance. Some insurance types are expensive, so they could be a major portion of your start-up costs.

6. Decide upon a name and verify that it isn’t already registered with your state.

7. Having an internet presence is extremely important in this day and age. Purchasing a domain name is quite easy and inexpensive. Choose one that is easy to spell, easy to remember, and if at all possible, get a domain name with a dot com extension. While other extensions (.net, .us, and .org) are viable options, most people will inadvertently use dot com when typing a website address.

Seeking ?Stable? Investments: The Net Lease Demand

Posted by admin in Investment on Jul 6th, 2010 | 0 comments

It looks like another banner year for the triple net leasing market, with demand far exceeding supply in most areas of the country. Thanks largely to the baby boomer population seeking out new types of retirement investments, demand continues to be high, and the demand, for the most part, comes from people who are in the midst of 1031 tax deferred exchanges. And even in light of interest rates trending upwards, cap rates tend to remain low with prices holding steady. Shopping Center Business recently spoke with several companies that are active in the triple net market to find out more about these trends and what we can expect for 2006.
Demographic Shift
The main reason for the current state of the triple net market is the significant demographic shift of baby boomers moving into their retirement years. According to Bruce McDonald, president of Net Lease Capital Advisors, there are about 75 million baby boomers, the oldest of which are just hitting the age of 60, so there are a lot of older Americans who have built up substantial wealth in real estate portfolios. Their ability to go into the net lease market allows them to avoid paying capital gains tax and move from management-intensive real estate to passive real estate that provides a stable income. “There are a lot of people who have built their portfolios out of single-family, duplexes or triplexes, and they are getting too old to bother with that and now have a yin for a management-free investment that produces a regular cash flow,” says Ralph Bunje, president of Reverse Exchange Services, Inc. “The traditional triple net model for these investors was a single-tenant property, such as a Burger King or post office because it fit their criteria. Now, as a result of this demographic shift, there has been the creation of the TIC [tenant in common] industry.”
In addition to a management-free investment, a lot of these retirees are looking for “safer” investments as opposed to the traditional stock market approach.
“There are a lot of people who had perhaps previously invested in the stock market or other investment opportunities and feel more comfortable getting into the triple net market now,” says Leith Swanson, president of Prime Net Realty Advisors, Inc. “There are a lot of very wealthy investors — individuals and entities — that are in the market and, at the same time, there has been a shortage of quality investment-grade net lease properties available for that pool of investors to buy. So what you’ve ended up with in the last couple of years is a huge pool of investors that are investing because of 1031 requirements or simply because they’re in the market and they are doing a dozen deals a year.”
Though most agree that triple net investing is becoming more and more popular, one person we talked to thinks the stock market still has some appeal. “I think the media has been successful in helping create the perception of the real estate bubble out there,” says Keith Sturm, principal with Upland Real Estate Group. “I don’t think there is a bubble, but certainly clients have been a bit more hesitant about real estate just based upon what they hear on TV. With that, I’m noticing that the stock market has become sexy again. People have very short term memories and have forgotten how their 401Ks turned into 101Ks over the last stock market ‘crash.’ Those memories have been fading, and people are thinking about jumping back in.”
Gaining Interest
Interest rates on triple net investments may be rising, but cap rates so far have not necessarily followed, according to several people we talked to, and pricing still remains steady. “The demand continues to be strong because folks are simply looking for non-management properties and net lease seems to fit the bill,” says Jay Bastian, senior vice president of acquisitions for Commercial Net Lease Realty.
“If treasuries stay where they are or trend lower, I think cap rates will probably maintain their current levels, but obviously treasuries are a driver of cap rates in some respects. Everyone talks about increasing interest rates, but I don’t see the demand sliding because of it; it’s just going to change pricing on deals.”
“It’s still an incredible seller’s marketplace,” notes James Dwoskin, president of ICA Realty. “Sellers are still holding tight to prices that were originally put in place at a lower interest rate environment, but there doesn’t seem to have been any movement in the cap rates on the highest credit deals. On the lesser credit deals, there’s always been more flexibility and play in the pricing.”
According to William H. Winn, president of Passco Companies, LLC, supply is still constrained and there is more demand by buyers. “However,” he says, “the movement of the interest rate has changed the market somewhat. Rising interest rates have, and will continue, to put downward pressure on yields, and as the trend continues, demand will be reduced on the buyer’s side.”
Winn continues: “If sellers do not lower their price expectations, the result will be less transaction volume because buyers and sellers will not be able to agree on purchase price.”
McDonald says he has yet to see a change in pricing.
“Everyone would think that the cap rates will track interest rates,” he notes. “If interest rates continue to go up, there may be a change in pricing at some point, but so far it’s early. There’s usually a delay anyway, but I think in this market, there’s likely to be a longer delay between the interest rates and the cap rates.”
Jonathan Hipp, president of Calkain Companies, takes a similar view.
“There’s a lot of activity with tax-motivated buyers and plenty of fresh equity that’s not tied to an exchange,” says Hipp. “Although interest rates have gone up, cap rates have not correspondingly seemed to move in conjunction with the interest rates, so there are some pretty aggressive cap rates compared to what the debt is.”
According to Sturm, the lower-priced, quality properties are holding their cap rates, and in the category of non-investment-grade properties that are in the $1.5 to $5 million range, there’s real pressure to increase cap rates.
“The trend I’m seeing now is there’s incredible pressure on cap rates, based upon interest rates rising, that is causing a little bit of a slow down in the market until cap rates can adjust to interest rates,” says Sturm.
2006 Market
So what effect will the demographic shift and rising interest rates have long term?
The great risk is that people are buying at a market high, according to Bunje, but how long that will last is the burning question.
“The demographic shift will probably continue to push for this type of investment for the next 10 years, at least,” he says. “But the question is, will these investments be popular and will the demand be there if the housing market should fall apart? If housing values go down, the whole focus is going to have to be on long term interest rates. So you just watch the 10-year Treasury rate and…